an Aloha thank you

My sincere "Thank You!" to the forum members who find and try these new masks. I would have seen it advertised, but never have tried one had you guys not taken the time to give such detailed reviews. We trust cpaptalk members to find this stuff for us and give honest reviews. Because the market is so flooded with masks, we could end up in the poor house trying to get a good night sleep doing this ourselves. I get a new mask I found out, every 6 months instead of every three like the old days so I can't afford for it to be a "hit and miss" like the old days. I also no longer have the income I had a few years back so mistakes are no joke.
So, keep up the great trials and reviews and don't be afraid to question what the manufacturers were thinking when the headgear moves up over your eyelids or the darn thing is so unstable you're up 10 times a night adjusting it. This is the first time or I should say the first pillow I have been able to wear that hasn't blown off my face. The closest I've been able to come to sleeping successfully with anything even close to just a pillow was the pillow with a mouth cushion and rubber bands to hold the pillows at my angle all night.
That said, I am really enjoying this Aloha mask and had a perfect fit right out of the box. The pillows aren't magically moving for me at night like some people were saying, at least I don't think they are, but I never have had to get up to adjust it, so I'm fine with whatever it is they do on their pointed horns. It's truly so easy to wear and sleep with that I'm sleeping in positions I haven't been able to sleep in since I was a child. I heard my wife this morning say "Ike, you slept on your back last night like a comfortable log and never moved the whole night." This mask is a nice change and much cooler feel for me in this warm weather. Thanks for the great recommendation.

Thanks for your review! I called my DME about this one today and he claimed they didn't have it. If I don't like what they give me this time, I may just buy the Aloha myself as just from the pictures it looks very comfortable.

I got mine in the mail yesterday, my DME said they didn't carry it, but were able to order it for me. I like it better than the swift fx, that was basically issued to me by the previous DME.

It doesn't require constant adjustment and stays put.

I ordered it because of the excellent reviews of the Aloha on this forum.

Maybe this is a stupid question, and I know people can order directly from the manufacturer (my wifes DME had to) but isn't Develbiss a distributor for this pillow? Why do no DME's have it? It's been out since march and you can't order it at your DME yet? They have to call the manufacturer and special order it?

neverbetter wrote:Maybe this is a stupid question, and I know people can order directly from the manufacturer (my wifes DME had to) but isn't Develbiss a distributor for this pillow? Why do no DME's have it? It's been out since march and you can't order it at your DME yet? They have to call the manufacturer and special order it?

I think my DME might only do Respironics and nothing else. Or at least they push them like crazy.

smurfyabs wrote:I think my DME might only do Respironics and nothing else. Or at least they push them like crazy.

I am betting that they also dispense Respironics machines. Often their "deals" or bottom line wholesale cost depends on how many masks they sell. They need the mask volume to keep the wholesale cost of the machines down. ResMed probably offers similar incentives.

I'm envious of everyone who has had good luck with the Aloha, but glad for them, too. I could not get it to fit comfortably on my head, so it was back to my old trust Swift LT For Her. At this point in time I've tried 5 or 6 different masks, and none have been keepers except the LT.

I wish there was an affordable way to custom-make a mask for individuals If.anyone figures out how to do this, they'll make millions. Unfortunately, it won't be me... I know there is an expensive custom-made full-face mask out there, but I don't want a full-face mask nor could I afford that one.

Oh well. Glad I have the one that does work for me.


Debbie

I agree this forum is great. I just started and when the DME came on Monday to fit me, I asked if they had the Aloha but she never heard of it. I ended up with the Swift LT for Her. I struggled with it. I now use the Opus 360 mask they gave me after my sleep study (they let me take it home since it had been used). That is much better for me. But I can't wait to try the Aloha. Good idea to ask if they can order. The next mask I get will probably be a FFM since everyone says to have it as a backup if you have a cold...and they are expensive...so better to get it through the insurance.

I would be surprised if they follow this Aloha with a for her version. It seems to fit everyone just about, but it would be nice for the ladies if they did. There might be some men with very small heads, too.

BostonGal wrote:I agree this forum is great. I just started and when the DME came on Monday to fit me, I asked if they had the Aloha but she never heard of it.

I have heard of this happening so often, and read it here so frequently, that I consider it more proof of the fact that the DMEs fail to devote as much time to their self-education on current developments as the patients themselves can and do.

At least when I asked my DME about it and he admitted not hearing of it, he kept me on the phone while he went online to find it and order it for me. That's why I respect him so much.

Nate

My DME had not heard of the Aloha back when I asked them for it, but they did say that they had cut way back on items from the Devilibiss rep. They did not elaborate on why, but she has gotten a free Opus 360 she wants me to compare the Aloha sample she gave me because the F&P rep swears it is the SAME as the Aloha, no way I told her but she wants a true comparison done. Heck I'll take the challenge, who knows maybe the Opus will work out well for me too! Ah, probably not I LOVE MY ALOHA!

I don't have much experience yet being a newbie, but I used the opus for my study and i like it better than the Swift FX for her the DME gave me. You may not like it better than your aloha, but it's a really good back up. And free is free! make sure to post the results.

smurfyabs wrote:Thanks for your review! I called my DME about this one today and he claimed they didn't have it. If I don't like what they give me this time, I may just buy the Aloha myself as just from the pictures it looks very comfortable.

I'm thinking of getting the Hybrid pillows FFM and my DME doesn't have it in stock, but told me to get my doctor to write a RX for it and they could order it. That might work for you too . . . get a doctor to RX it for you.

smurfyabs wrote:Thanks for your review! I called my DME about this one today and he claimed they didn't have it. If I don't like what they give me this time, I may just buy the Aloha myself as just from the pictures it looks very comfortable.

Yep, I had the same experience, smurfy. My supplier wouldn't offer to go find it for me either. Said I'd have to go buy it myself and send the receipt to my insurance company myself. So I PM'ed needzzzzs below who just got one. She had a good experience buying it from our host website https://www.cpap.com and bought it from them. I like cpap.com.

Heads up. Cpap.com's price just moved up from $85 to $99. I thanked them for hosting us and asked nicely for the previous price at $85, got their supervisor's ok, and reminded the sales person that they have a Mother's Day promotion right now offering free shipping. So the bottom line was a nice $84.99 including free ground shipping (3days or so).

Thanks all for the many detailed reviews on this mask. We'll see how it does. It will have a tough act to follow as the Swift FX has been the best for me so far.

portiemom wrote:My DME had not heard of the Aloha back when I asked them for it, but they did say that they had cut way back on items from the Devilibiss rep. They did not elaborate on why, but she has gotten a free Opus 360 she wants me to compare the Aloha sample she gave me because the F&P rep swears it is the SAME as the Aloha, no way I told her but she wants a true comparison done. Heck I'll take the challenge, who knows maybe the Opus will work out well for me too! Ah, probably not I LOVE MY ALOHA!

I plead no contest! I guess I could go back to the Opus to test it out, but I really love the low AHI I get with the Aloha (same pressure, so it must be the mask). The Aloha is super easy to take on and off, and it stays on all night without leaking much (although I did have a strange leak event last night!). Aloha is definitely the winner for me!